The new social entrepreneur must harness data and technology to make a bigger impact. Check those 7 reasons to embrace the tech wave and take your business to a higher level.
They can use technology as a tool and not a goal
Social entrepreneurs are purpose-driven and on a personal mission to impact the world. They use technology as an agent to reach their goals, but not as a goal itself. Rather than tying their vision to technological prowesses and falling for ephemeral tech crazes, they stay focused on the lasting changes they want to trigger around them. Being of service to the community and their social purpose are the drivers for technological innovation and not the way around. They do not create technology and expect people to find it useful for needs that they do not have. On the contrary, they ensure that the technology they use is grounded in the reality of the community and keeps up with its ever-evolving needs.
They can use technology to augment their multiple intelligences
Social entrepreneurs trust human potential and believe in our shared purpose to co-create together in our communities and the world. So they would back innovations that contribute to uplifting humankind by augmenting our human intelligences with data and technology instead of betting on a future exclusively built with machines. They can use augmented intelligence technologies to amplify their knowledge and talents and, equally, to empower their stakeholders in their own journey. Data and technology are powerful tools to guide intuition, increase critical thinking and support people to be independent and grow in their self-care and learning process.
They can join the movement of citizen data scientists and business technologists
Rather than waiting for others to create the innovation they want to see and use now, more people decide to get their hands dirty and be involved in building technology. As tech users, we probably already dreamed a few times about innovations that could change our lives and the world. But only to shelves those ideas because we have no intention to join a coding Bootcamp or get a PhD in a STEM subject. But the Genius of technology has probably heard our growing plea because there is a rising number of companies releasing no code or low code applications. They empower people to materialise their ideas and contribute to the rise of "tech for all" while overcoming the barrier of learning coding skills.
They can infiltrate and disrupt the Technology industry
The Tech industry is not known to put people first. Tech for Good or AI for good should not be a subcategory of “nice to have” or “philanthropic” tech but become mainstream because the purpose of technology has always been to support our human evolution. Innovation for positive impact in our societies should not stay the exception, and it is time to change the narrative. Defying the omnipotence of Big Tech companies requires a strategic and number game. For a bottom-up change, more social entrepreneurs should embrace partnerships and solo opportunities in tech to increase the number of disruptive social tech innovations that put humans and the environment first. By changing the intentions behind the technology widely released to people, they will be able to change the tide and divert from harmful purposes affecting the billions of users worldwide and trigger sweeping societal changes.
They can scale up their social impact
With bespoke technologies adapted to their missions, social entrepreneurs can overcome the barriers of Time, Space and Matters. They can reach more people at different places locally and internationally, are accessible at any time zone or whenever it suits people’s timetable and can turn out to be useful for even more people beyond their initial target market. On the personal side, it means they can free more time in their personal lives for their well-being and to reconnect with their purpose. On the professional side, they can make a massive passive impact all around the clock and free more time to reflect and innovate on the progress and directions of their businesses.
They can better connect with others
Even if technology facilitates outreach, no social entrepreneur can progress blindly without connections with the community. For the social enterprise, people are precious, and their feedback is gold. Social entrepreneurs need to stay connected with their collective intelligence to receive valuable information from their stakeholders and measure the tangible results made on the ground. And with data analytics capability, information can be consistently collected and more thoroughly analysed. Data from collective intelligence also will be critical to improving offers. So entrepreneurs can make adjustments when necessary to increase their relevance to the needs of the people they serve. They can use data to take the pulse of their businesses, the community, and the world.
They can make a better data-informed impact on the world
Everything is connected. As above so below, so below as above. There are growing pieces of evidence of the impact of Climate change on our social and individual lives. And the social affects the political and economic. Therefore, whatever the social mission, the entrepreneurs can no longer overlook the trends and relationships that directly influence their stakeholders and businesses. That macro information is not to be feared but, on the contrary, welcomed and harnessed to understand better the bigger picture and foresee what is probably coming. So they can monitor the context that influences their social mission and reframe their actions to keep them grounded in the reality of the world in real-time.